Turning Pounds Into Dollars

L To R: Jennifer Graylock / AP Photo; Ralph Notaro / Splash News Jessica Simpson may be unfairly mocked for her “weight battle,” but she only stands to gain from it financially. Jo Piazza explains why bulking up can be a celebrity career saver and expand one’s bottom line.

There's no reason to feel sorry for Jessica Simpson these days. Yes, America is buzzing about those unflattering photos of her at a Florida chili cookoff where her belly is made all the more prominent by the unfortunate fashion decision of high-waisted mom jeans. And yes, more than a few media outlets have taken the liberty of calling her a "fat cow" and a "woman in a weight crisis." That wouldn't make anyone feel warm and cozy about themselves. But if Jess plays her cards right, there is no reason she can't turn fat cow into cash cow. There is a long list of celebrities—Oprah, Kirstie Alley, Valerie Bertinelli—who have turned weight gain into an economic boon.

Obama dryly commented on Jessica being "in a weight battle, apparently." When Barack weighs in on Weight-Gate, you know you've stolen the national agenda.

After packing on what looks like 15 pounds in the past couple of months, Jessica Simpson is something she has never really been before—relevant and in the middle of the zeitgeist. According to USA Today's Heat Index, which measures celebrities' media exposure, Jessica is No. 1 on the website's list for the first time, as a result of her fuller figure. The New York Post may have published an editorial cartoon mocking Simpson's weight gain, and the ladies on The View have come to her defense, giving her as much chat time last week as they gave First Lady Michelle Obama. And most amazingly, in a pre-Super Bowl interview with President Obama, Matt Lauer pointed out that the new president was taken out of Us Weekly's cover shot of his wife and daughters in order to make room for last week's hot topic, Simpson's jeans. Obama dryly commented back on Jessica being "in a weight battle, apparently." When Barack weighs in on Weight-Gate, you know you've stolen the national agenda.

Let's look at the figures. America's obsession with fat has helped to fuel a $40 billion diet industry that churns out diet supplements, self-help books, weight-management programs and fitness centers. And at the heart of the industry is the celebrity endorsement, which can be worth anywhere between $500,000 to $5 million a year for high-profile celebs like Kirstie Alley and Marie Osmond. So rather than hibernating while she tries to drop back down to a size zero, Jessica Simpson could actually boost her career.

Oprah Winfrey pioneered the trend of boldfaced names oversharing back in 1988, when on her talk show, dressed in size 10 skinny jeans, she wheeled a wagon loaded with fat onto her stage to represent her 67-pound weight loss. Celebrities have since realized that being open about their weight struggles can translate pound for pound into easy cash. It was at that moment that Oprah's fans became personally invested in the talk-show host's struggle with her weight and with Oprah herself. While her openness about weight fluctuation certainly isn't the secret of all her success, it has at least been a contributing factor in the building of what is now her $2.7 billion net worth and her massive media empire.

Since that 1988 stunt, Oprah has been smart about knowing when to capitalize on her audience's captivation with her struggle with size. Most recently, just as the magazine market began to tank in the fourth quarter of last year, Oprah found a way to bulk up her readership—she revisited the weight issue.

The January issue of O magazine, which hit stands in mid-December, featured two Oprahs on the cover. The formerly svelte Oprah from 2005 and Oprah in 2008, having again reached the 200-pound mark. Inside the magazine, Oprah admitted that she was frustrated and mad at herself for "falling off the wagon." The January issue sold 1.1 million copies on the newsstand, making it the best-selling issue in three years, according to its publisher Hearst.

When Oprah launched her Best Life Week series of television shows (in which she candidly discussed her weight gain and how she planned to manage it) in January, ratings skyrocketed, making it the best-rated week of shows all season. Those numbers, for the magazine and for the television show, will translate into higher advertising dollars in coming quarters, say ratings analysts.